Cubs Chairman Tom Ricketts spoke today before a panel of Chicago-area sports executives at a symposium sponsored by the Score radio station.
In it, he made some interesting comments about what qualities he thinks the Cubs' next manager must have:"We have to have a manager who really understands what it is to be the Cubs manager, the pressure, the scrutiny you get and be able to handle those periods in June when you lose three games in a row and people start talking about Year 103 of the curse. We have to someone who understands what they're getting into," Ricketts said.
Ricketts also said the team has to have a manager who's "still engaged in being a coach" and is willing to teach fundamentals.
"We're going to have a younger team going forward," Ricketts said.
Ricketts also said he's looking for someone who will be committed to the organization for a long time, possibly ruling out older candidates who may be looking for their last managerial job before they retire.
"I think that we're going to bring in someone who has in their mind that this is their job and their position forever," Rickett said.
Well. While these attributes could be what Joe Girardi could bring to managing the Cubs, it would seem to me that the man they are most likely to describe is Ryne Sandberg -- and not Mike Quade, who, although he has been in the Cubs organization for four years, doesn't have the long history with the team that either Sandberg or Girardi does.
I'm sure these remarks will start up another firestorm of comments here, so have at it.